31 on 31: Part 1

I discovered a few months back that my upcoming birthday would be a special one. Now, you may ask, what's so special about turning 31? It's not 30 or 21 or 16 or 50 or any other 'special' number. It's just a 3 followed by a 1.

However, it's not the number that is making it special, but what I will be doing and who will be with me.

I will turn 31 in exactly one week, on Sunday, December 8, 2013. On that same day, I will be running my second marathon, the MetroPCS Dallas Marathon.

Some of you may be thinking "why on Earth would you want to run, not only a marathon, but a second marathon, in celebration of your birthday?!"

Well, you see, like I mentioned, a few months ago I discovered something. I've run quite a few road races in my life. My first one goes back to my senior year in high school and it includes many races over the next 12+ years. As I thought about it, I thought about the people who I've seen out at these same races with shirts saying it was there birthday or anniversary. Something and some day that was special to them. Then I thought about my own birthday.

Last year, the MetroPCS Dallas Marathon and Half Marathon was held the day after my birthday, so we celebrated it early so I could run the half marathon on the 9th. But when I found out this year's race would be on my actual birthday I thought, wouldn't it be funny/cool if I ran my 31st race on my 31st birthday? I didn't think that would be possible, but it was an awesome idea if nothing else.

And then I thought about it more. Like, really thought about it, and discovered...it might be possible after all. So I sat down a made a list of all of my road races dating back to my first race in 2000. After multiple drafts, this is what I came up with...

1. Dallas YMCA 33^rd Turkey Trot – November 23, 2000
2. Max’s O’Hartford 5K – March 14, 2010
3. Max’s O’Hartford 5K – March 18, 2012
4. Ten Penny Ale Shamrock 5K - May 20, 2012
5. Amica Ironhorse Half Marathon – June 3, 2012
6. Color Me Rad 5K – September 8, 2012
7. Twilight Zone Tower of Terror 10 Miler – September 29, 2012
8. ING Hartford Marathon – October 13, 2012
9. Double Trouble 5K & 10K – October 27, 2012
10. Foam Fest – November 3, 2012
11. Mighty Mud Dash – November 10, 2012
12. Walking Dead 5K – November 17, 2012
13. Dallas YMCA 45^th Turkey Trot – November 22, 2012
14. Metro PCS Dallas Half Marathon – December 9, 2012
15. Electric Run – January 19, 2013
16. Texas Half Marathon – February 3, 2013
17. Hot Chocolate 5K – February 9, 2013
18. Race 2 Rescue - March 2, 2013
19. Dallas Rock n Roll Half – March 24, 2013
20. Hero Rush 5K – April 6, 2013
21. Big D Texas Half Marathon – April 14, 2013
22. Vampire 5K – April 26, 2013
23. Cinco de Miler – May 5, 2013
24. Drenched 5K – May 25, 2013
25. Run or Dye 5K – June 22, 2013
26. Hottest Half Marathon – August 25, 2013
27. Mud Factor – September 7, 2013
28. Patriot Games – September 21, 2013
29. Tyler Rose Half Marathon – October 13, 2013
30. Ugly Sweater 5K – November 30, 2013
31. Metro PCS Dallas Marathon – December 8, 2013

The marathon that I would be running on my 31st birthday was indeed going to be my 31st race! It was POSSIBLE!

When I found that out, I was excited. It was such a cool idea. When I determined that this was actually going to happen, I tried to think of ways to get friends involved to help me celebrate.

Sure, I could have them all cheer me on throughout the race, holding up signs and being at the finish line (which has maybe happened 3 times in all of my races...and honestly, those were the most special). But, I've run a marathon before and I know how hard it was for me. It's just as much a mental race as it is a physical one. When you are out on the road, even though you are surrounded by people, you feel very alone and it weighs you down. I know where I needed the support. I know where I needed the extra nutrients. And I knew how to get it this time...

One of the features of this marathon is a 5-person relay team.  I knew I would never get someone to run with me for the full marathon, but I thought that maybe I could get 5 friends to run the relay along side me, as a sort of birthday present to me, if you will.

Each person would take a leg of the race, running anywhere from 4.4 miles to 6.5 miles, and run beside me, keep me motivated and give me things to keep me going. And I was lucky enough to find those people!

Leg 1 - Mel - 5.7 Miles
Leg 2 - Megan - 5.0 Miles
Leg 3 - Kelcee - 4.6 Miles
Leg 4 - Leia - 4.4 Miles
Leg 5 - Patricia - 6.5 Miles

I also have Linda running her first half marathon, so she'll be with me for the first 7.5 miles before she turns back to finish her race and I keep going to finish mine. Ashley and my goddaughter, Jordan, along with Shannon, Stephanie and Blair and hopefully many others, will be out cheering for us throughout the course. My parents are even coming out and they have never been to one of my road races. I don't know how much they will see (as I anticipate a finish between 5 and 5.5 hours) but the fact that they are coming out to support me and celebrate my birthday means a lot.

I'm actually extremely excited about this race, compared to the daunting feeling I had during my first marathon. I know that I can and will improve upon my marathon time. I can only get better. And even if I still struggle through this race, I have my girls to keep me going. What I've learned through coaching them this year, is that when I focus on them, not only do they do well...but so do I. I wouldn't trade any of my time with them for the world.

So think of me on the 8th. Think of us. Think of the teamwork that will take place and the accomplishment of us combined.

Stay tuned as I will put up Part 2 to this post after the race and let you know how we did!! :-)

The Return Home

The final morning in London was sad and the weather reflected my mood. During the entire trip the weather had been amazing. No rain. No gloomy skies. At times, it was a bit overcast, but for the most part, the sun was out. The weather was in the low 50's for the high and it worked.

The morning we left, it finally rained. It was drizzly, not a downpour. I was sad but I knew I had to go home. London didn't want me to leave either.

With one last look at some of the sites on our way out to Heathrow, I said my mental goodbyes.

The trip to the airport was quiet. That will happen at 6:00AM. But it was a fast trip, compared to our arrival. It was the right time of day and we were going the opposite direction of the morning rush hour traffic.

We arrived at the airport with no problems. We checked in, again, without any issues other than a printer error, which was fixed at the counter. We got through security fairly easily...at least for mom and I. Again, dad had slight issues, but for the most part it was a smooth entrance.

Once we were all put back together, we ventured off to the US Airways Club. I made a slight detour on the way, stopping at a gift shop to use my last twenty pounds (no point in changing that back) and then proceeded to the club for breakfast. After a sad/pouty selfie and some other family photos, we were headed off to the gate for boarding.

It all passed by fairly quickly. The next thing I knew, we were at the gate, boarding the plane and I was once more in my cushy Envoy seat. While no less spectacular than the first time around, it didn't hold the same fascination as our arrival trip. It was no longer new (so no need to take more pictures of the seats) and I was now leaving and going back to the US...when I would have much rather have stayed in the UK.

I got my sparkling wine as we boarded, though the flight attendant did ask if I was over 21. I told her yes and she asked if I could prove it. I thought it was funny, but said, yes I could, and started digging through my bag for my passport. She laughed a little and patted my back saying that I was too eager to prove it so I must be. I told her I was well over 21 and almost 31 and mom, who sat behind me, said she'd vouch for my age. I also ordered a Bloody Mary for after we took off and the same woman (who was wonderful) kind of had an 'ooh, gurl' moment and then proceed to have fun with the three of us as we each, in turn and without chatting with each other, all ordered a Bloody Mary. She even made a comment about how we must be family. Lol.

However, unlike our trip to the UK, I watched as many movies as possible. There was kind of no reason for sleep, so while I enjoyed my breakfast and lunch (yup...two meals again) I watched four different movies: White House Down, Wolverine, World War Z and Hitchcock.

I actually enjoyed White House Down. Wolverine is just getting old...this particular storyline was a real stretch. World War Z was interesting. I'm not finished with the book yet...so I can't fully compare it. And Hitchcock was good. I think Anthony Hopkins and Helen Mirren were wonderful.

We landed stateside in Charlotte and by that time, mom was full-blown sick and I was tired. So, off to the club we went again, to kill time. The long layovers are great to ensure that you make your next flight, but the suck because if you are on time...you just WAIT AROUND. I read, I checked emails, I drank (yes, that was my theme for almost the entire trip) and waited.

Finally, it was time to board the final leg of my flight (my parents still had one more trip back to New Mexico, but luckily the next morning). After a chugged (yes, chugged) a gin & tonic just before take off, I read a little longer and listened to some music before catching about 30 minutes of shut eye. When I woke up, I read a bit more before we began our descent into Dallas.

Our luggage made it (woot) and mom and dad headed off to their hotel while I waited for Mel to pick me up. I had a headache (from the drinks, I'm sure, and the lack of sleep). I wasn't picking Bailey up that night, so when she arrived, we decided to grab a late night dinner at Pop Diner and then I was back home.

By the time I was back and my apartment and ready for bed, I had been up for roughly 24 hours. I was exhausted but all I had were amazing memories of London and my trip with my parents.

Maybe we'll get to do it again one day...but if not, it will be something I will always remember and cherish.

Now...what to do with these... ;-)

London Trip - November 12 - November 18, 2013

London - Day 5

Last full day in London. :-(

No run this morning and I slept in as much as I could, which wasn't much technically. Met up with my parents for breakfast, like usual, and like usual I tried something different. I got the pancakes, which were good but dense eve though they were buttermilk pancakes. Must be the flour. I don't know. I should have stuck with the red flannel hash. Damn, that was good.

Mom and I decided we would head out to the British Museum and dad would go out to try to take some pictures. Sadly and surprisingly, this was the first cloudy day we had throughout the entire trip. Each day of our trip up until today was sunny and lovely.

I had been to the museum before and enjoyed it but I mainly stuck to the Greek/Roman and Egypt sections of the museum, though there are many different areas to explore. Mom really wanted to see the mummies, so that's what we did. We also stopped into the see the Chinese Ceramics and the Greek & Roman areas. Of course we saw the Rosetta Stone as well, which is still a cool site.

After picking up some trinkets in the gift shop, we headed back out to the tube station at Tottenham Court Road and then we each went out separate ways. Mom headed out to Liberty's (a store like Harrods) and I made my way to Notting Hill.

I was on a mission for blue doors. I had been taking pictures of blue doors when I saw them around London, because I had a request from a friend who has fond memories of the movie Notting Hill. So, I headed to Notting Hill in search of more blue doors to photograph. I found plenty.

I ended up at Portobello Road, which is a rather colorful area. It reminds me of the Hamden area of Baltimore. Anyway, I walked around a bit and shopped, for both myself and for others, and then headed back to the hotel.

Once back in my room, I decided to make use of the time and try to figure out how I would repack my luggage. I didn't have much to pack in the first place, but I did bring a suitcase the size of a carry on, my cross body purse and a backpack. Not much wiggle room and I did buy a few things, but again, all small so things could fit here or there.

I pulled out what I would be wearing on the plane the next day and got everything situated. The only thing I debated was what shoes to wear. That's a weird concept for me, because I hardly ever think about my shoes. I brought two pairs of brown boots (one knee high and one mid calf) and my running shoes and I've gotten major use out of all of them. I wore the knee highs over, for more room in my suitcase, but the running shoes are more comfortable. The dilemma! Comfort over functionality or vice versa?

Finally, it was time for dinner. I had really wanted to head out to an Indian restaurant but sadly due to walking distance and restaurant availability, that would be happening. So mom made a reservation for an Italian restaurant not far from the hotel.

It was a cute little Italian restaurant (yes, I came all the way to London for Italian food) virtually right next door to the US Embassy. We went all out, seeing it was our last night. We all had some prosecco and started with an antipasto of bruschetta con pomodoro, fresh mozzarella and some prosciutto and salami. I ended up having fresh pasta ravioli with ricotta and porcini mushrooms in a cream sauce. It was light but hearty all at the same time. For dessert, while mom had her double espresso (geez) I had chocolate mousse while dad had the tiramisu.

We had our first celebrity siting as well. Sitting two tables down from us was Robert Englund, who is probably best known was Freddy Krueger, from the original 1984 Nightmare on Elm Street and subsequent sequels. Dad spotted him first and we all proceeded to figure out who he was. Dad was the one who said Freddy and I looked it up and low and behold, it was.

No, we didn't say hello.

Our last walk back to the hotel was uneventful except for the quick stop into a Starbucks to grab a London mug for dad's Starbucks mug collection (yes, he has one).

With a quick goodnight, I was back up in my room to grab a shower, do a double check of my suitcase and then reading until I couldn't keep my eyes open anymore.

Goodnight London. Until we see each other again...

London - Day 4

Today was the long run day. Technically, I was supposed to do 20 miles this particular morning...but let's face it, it wasn't going to happen. Honestly, with the amount of walking we had been doing in London, it wasn't going to be hard to get most of my mileage in anyway, just not at one whack.

So, today was 7 miles. I started on Park lane, just outside the hotel and headed north. Crossed over into Hyde Park and began my journey. I changed it up a bit today, trying to find things, like the Peter Pan Statue, etc. I was also taking pictures this time around since I had gotten the lay of the land from Thursday's run and I was going further, so more to see.

So, I did a route that took me around and through Hyde Park, Kensington Park, St. James Park and Green Park. It was a beautiful morning, but colder than Thursday. The doorman even told me on my way out that it was brisk morning for a run. I constantly saw my breath, the grass was frosted over and there was a low fog over most of the grounds and waterways.

After the run, I got back to the hotel and again, all it wanted was a hot shower. Too bad my room was being serviced (aka cleaned) when I got back at 9. Luckily, I only had to wait about 5 minutes and they were done.

I then called my parents to give them their 'wake up' call and I proceeded to get in the shower. That's when the trouble began. I finished my shower and shut off the water. I made a step in the tub and WHAM! I slipped and fell. Luckily the only thing I banged up was my elbow, but damn, that hurt.

Anyway, I got ready and headed down for breakfast, meeting my parents in the lobby. I tried something different today: Red Flannel Hash, which is made with beets instead of corned beef. It was delicious! Pan fried beets, potatoes, goat cheese and two fried eggs. Amazing. I will be making this at home.

So once breakfast was finished, I went up to my room to called the National Theater to see when their backstage tours were and if they would have an availability. Sadly, no. So I ended up going to the Churchill War Rooms with mom instead. This was an interesting maze underground. It was very tight quarters, reminding me of a submarine, but not quite as compact. We had a self guided audio tour that we used as we weaved in and out of the tiny rooms and corridors.

We did make it over to the National Theatre, just to see it. It's a cool grouping of buildings and they house three different performance spaces. The national Theatre is where War Horse and One Man, Two Guvnors got their starts, and where the awesome Frankenstein with Benedict Cumberbatch and Johnny Lee Miller in the reversing lead rolls was performed. It's been home to so many talented artists. It was a very cool thing to be able to walk in the doors. Had I known the tours would have booked up so fast, I would have taken care of that earlier. Alas, another trip is needed...oh darn.

 

So, from there, we went to King's across Station. Why? But for Platform 9 3/4 of course. Yup, I waited in line to get my picture taken with the trolley and I'm not ashamed. After walking through the gift shop, yup there was a Harry Potter gift shop there too...mom turned to me and said "from one fictional character, to another...time for Sherlock Holmes."

From King's Cross, we headed to Baker Street and the Sherlock Holmes Museum at 221B Baker Street. While we were waiting in line, I over heard a rather crabby gentleman who was walking past say something to the extent of "I don't know why they are waiting in line for a fictional character" and I guess he had a point. Sherlock Holmes was not a real person and he never lived at 221B Baker Street. It's not like going to Buckingham Palace and seeing what royalty may have used had they been real. But having just come from Platform 9 and 3/4 and being a person who goes to Disney World, what person hasn't hung out with a fictional character?! You don't go to Cinderella's castle because it's a real castle! Puh-lease.

Anyway, we went through the house/museum very quickly which was nice. Both mom and I were pretty tired and our feet were hurting, but we could at least say we had been there.

I had a little over an hour between when we returned to the hotel and when we were meeting for dinner prior to going to the theater. We decided on The Park Room at the hotel again, because it was easy to get to (duh) and it was tasty. Both mom and dad had the club sandwiches again (and honestly, I almost did too because it was so good) but I changed it up a bit. I had a trio of mini 'burgers' which consisted of an angus burger with a mustard sauce, a lamb burger with a mint-yogurt sauce and a lobster burger with a mango chutney. All were very tasty, but even with a side of fries, it wasn't enough. The mixture of the running this morning along with all of the walking throughout the day with no lunch, I was starving.

Mom gave me her last quarter of her sandwich. I must have looked a sight for her to take pity on me. ;-)

After we finished, I ran upstairs to get changed for the show and was quickly back down for us to snag a taxi to The Playhouse Theatre to see SPAMALOT. Both dad and I were exhausted, but we made it through. I was excited to see the production because I knew the music well and I wasn't disappointed.

We did see the cover for King Arthur, who was good, but a bit too young for the role. The cast was cracking each other up throughout the night, which can be both a good and a bad thing. In this case, it was both a good and a bad thing. ;-) But overall, the show was good and I'm happy to say that I have now seen it.

Then it was back in a taxi and back to the hotel. Another day in London...done.

London - Day 3

I had decided not to run this particular morning as I knew my legs would be tired from the run the previous day as well as all of the walking we did in the city. So, I woke up leisurely, read a bit in bed and then proceeding to get ready for breakfast.

Once we met up downstairs, we each decided we would try the buffet. Pretty tasty. There was plenty of traditional English breakfast items: black pudding, baked beans, sautéed potatoes, sautéed mushrooms, porridge, along with the standards of eggs, bacon and sausage. I didn't try it all, but what I did eat was good.

So good, in fact, that I was stuffed. I definitely ate too much and I knew we were meeting up with family friends for lunch, so I was hoping that we would do enough walking to help my digestion.

After the debacle that was mom and I looking everywhere for the Tardis at Charring Cross (aka the wrong station) back on day one, we ventured out again, this time in hopes of actually locating the item in question. Earl's Court Station is located on the Piccadilly line and that's where we had to go. The Tardis was supposedly located out on Earl's Court Road. And wouldn't you know it, it was!

Mom and I each posed next to the Tardis and went on our merry little way. I did knock to see if the Doctor was in...he wasn't. I knocked four times...and nothing. ;-)

We then headed back to the hotel to pick up my dad. He said he wanted to take the tube to Covent Garden (where we were meeting up with friends for lunch) but mom and I weren't too sure about that. The tube is the underground and there are a lot of steps and it's a lot of walking...things dad isn't the best at. But we found a way to not change trains so we headed to the Hyde Park Corner Station (Marble Arch was technically our closer station, but we would have had to change trains once) and we took the Piccadilly line to Covent Garden. It was a bit slow going, up but eventually, we got him there.

We all met up outside the Royal Opera House and proceeded to walk to a restaurant called Brown's. Everyone seemed to have something different: linguini, flatbread, fish and chips, salmon cakes. I had a chicken and avocado sandwich on focaccia with chips and it was delicious. Very light, especially after the large breakfast.

Once we were all satiated, we headed back to Covent Garden to walk around and see all the crafts, street performers and high end stores.

Apparently we had worked up enough of another appetite (so not true) that we headed into a place for tea and dessert. Everyone else got tea, but I had the Belgium hot chocolate. Delicious. I also had not planned to eat anything, but when the scones with jam and cream came out, they were massive and I was asked to share one. So...I took one for the team. Again, delicious. These were not traditional scones as they were more like biscuits in consistency, but they were still good.

We took a cab back to the hotel and I snagged an hour nap before mom and I headed out to dinner (geez, massive amounts of food today). We had reservations at The Wolseley, which is a higher end restaurant near Piccadilly Circus.

We took a cab but the traffic was so bad, we were dropped off on a street corner near the restaurant. Sadly, we ended up walking the wrong way so we got a bit lost, but after asking a shop clerk (or two), we finally found it.

It was a lovely dinner. There was plenty of fish options, but unless it was fried, I probably wasn't going to eat it, so I chose the filet and it was so good. A chocolate éclair for dessert rounded out my meal. As we left the restaurant, we decided to go next door to the Ritz Carlton London for an after dinner drink. We were sat in one of the lobby parlors and while the others had a glass of port, I enjoyed a Bonaparte Mule (aka a Moscow Mule with rosemary instead of mint) in a copper mug. It was refreshing and light.

Finally, we hopped in a cab and made it back to the hotel. As I hopped into bed I realized how much I didn't want to get up in the morning to run...